Theme model 15
249. Theme-model XV.— THE TRAVELER'S SKETCH. Theme-model XV. is to serve for accounts of visits to places of interest. It may also be used to reproduce portions of books of travel, such as Hawthorne's Our Old Home, Winter's Shakspere' s England, or for imaginary visits to historic places. Theme-model XV. is derived from Hawthorne's Old Ticonderoga. The student should become familiar with this selection before he attempts to see how the outline is deduced from it. 251. Theme-model XV. in Outline. It will be noticed that the outline below deviates slightly from the selection used as a model for it. Reread Old Ticonderoga with the following motives in mind : Chapter I. Situation—the first visit to the place described. (One of the characters is the narrator, "I." This type of story, in which the narrator is one of the actors, is called the "I story.") Use Situation-type I. DescrzPtion of place—in a dialogue between the two visitors mentioned in the situation, these visitors feeling different interests in the place. (See §§ 99 and 144.) Chapter II. Situation—the second visit to the place described. (The characters are " I " and a different person from the one appearing in the first situation — one who is familiar with the history of the place). Use Situ¬ation-type I. Retrospective narrative—giving the history of the place in a dialogue between " I " and the other visitor or an occupant who is conversant with the history of the place, and who is character B of the second situation. Chapter III. Situation—a third visit to the place. Mention but one character, the narrator. Use Situation-type I. with character B omitted. Mood of the narrator, "I." Retrospective narrative—in the form of vision by the narrator — dealing with the more remote history of the place. General reflection —suggested by the place or the nar rator's experience in it. Point out the narrative, descriptive, and exposi¬tory motives in the above outline. fore attempting original sketches of travel, we shall reproduce Old Ticonderoga in order that we may mas¬ter the form of this kind of theme before we are obliged to seek for material of our own. Exercises I. Reproduce Hawthorne's Old Ticonderoga ac¬cording to the outline below. Use Situation-type I. Chapter I. Situation—the first visit to the place described. Find material in paragraphs i and 2. Description of place—in a dialogue between two per sons whose interests in the place differ. Find ma¬terial in paragraph 2. Chapter II. Situatiort — the second visit to the place described. Find material in paragraph 3. Retrospective narrative— in a dialogue between the per son who is telling the story and an old soldier. Find material in paragraph 3. Chapter III. Situation—the third 'visit to the place described. Find material in paragraphs 4 and 5. Mood of the narrator —dreaminess. Find material in paragraph 5. Retrospective narrative —in the form of vision. Find material in paragraphs 6-8. General reflection— Find material in paragraph 9. Use as the thought of the general reflection, "Nature returns, but man returns not" Show that the grass and flowers renew themselves yearly, but that the men who once were there have forever passed away. II. Reproduce according to the directions in Appendix II., section 6, Hawthorne's The Old Manse. 253. Theme-model XV. in Subjects from Life and History. The student should regard the sub¬jects mentioned in the following exercise merely as suggestions. It is hoped that he will find more interesting ones in his own experience. Exercise Describe according to the model for the traveler's sketch (§25I), three visits to any of the following places : i. Some public building in the town or city in which you live. 2. Some historic building or battlefield of which you have read or heard. 3. The home of some poet or statesman, or great soldier. (If you have not visited any such place, per¬haps you can give the description from a picture.) 4. A factory. 5. An interesting piece of natural scenery ; such as, Niagara Falls. 6. An exposition ; such as, the "World's Fair." 7. An old homestead.